Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Overview

 

High-dose chemotherapy and allogeneic bone marrow or blood stem cell transplantation is a treatment strategy that uses the administration of high doses of anticancer drugs and/or radiation therapy for the purpose of killing cancer cells and transplantation of stem cells to "rescue" or restore bone marrow blood and immune cell production. Transplantation is the term for transfer of tissue (a graft) from one person to another. Allogeneic is the term for a tissue graft from one person to another.

There are many types of allogeneic grafts that can be transplanted from one person to another, including skin, heart, kidney, liver, etc. However, the easiest organ in the body to transplant is the bone marrow. This is because a small quantity of stem cells taken from the bone marrow or peripheral blood of one person can repopulate the entire bone marrow organ of another person. In contrast to other types of transplants, the donor does not "miss" the small amount of bone marrow stem cells removed. A small quantity of bone marrow contains stem cells that are capable of dividing rapidly and repopulating the entire blood and immune system of another person within a short period of time.

High-dose chemotherapy and allogeneic stem cell transplantation is a component of an overall treatment strategy used to treat many kinds of cancer. High-dose chemotherapy and allogeneic stem cell transplantation may be appropriately used as the initial or subsequent treatment, depending on the type of cancer. It is not a treatment of last resort. The role of stem cell transplantation in the management of a specific cancer should be carefully planned following an initial diagnosis of cancer. To learn more about allogeneic stem cell transplantation and the role it may play in the treatment of your cancer, select one of the following.

This content was last modified on May 23, 2006 .
Latest Cancer News
ACOG Updates Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines

November 20, 2009 — The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has revised its cervical cancer screening recommendations: the organization now recommends that women begin screening at the age of 21 and receive screening at less frequent intervals. These recommendations will be published in the December 2009 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

New Velcade®-melphalan Transplant Regimen for Multiple Myeloma

November 20, 2009 — Researchers from France have reported encouraging results with adding Velcade® (bortezomib) to high-dose melphalan followed by autologus stem cell infusion for initial treatment of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The details of this Phase II study appeared in an early online publication in Blood on November 2, 2009.

Folic Acid May Be Beneficial in Patients with Recurrent Colorectal Adenoma Who Are Folate Deficient

November 20, 2009 — Researchers affiliated with the Health Professional Follow-Up Study and the Nurses’ Health Study have reported that folic acid supplementation in patients with recurrent colorectal adenoma was not protective or harmful in most patients. However, patients who were folate deficient had a significant 39% decrease in adenoma recurrence. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication on October 28, 2009 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Select news items provided by Reuters Health